Safety-catch for elevators.



% a INVENTORS I BY PATENTED MAR. 26, 1907". J. D. IHLDER & R.,W. SCOTT.SAFETY CATCH FOR ELEVATORS.

APPLIGATION FILED JULY 29, 1906.

. -llll WTJM C5 fizz WITNESSES! Waw A'TTORN EY UNTTE STATES PATENTFFTGE.

JOHN D. IHLDER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., AND RUMSEY W. SCOTT, OF WASH-INGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, ASSIGNORS TO OTIS ELEVATOR COM- PANY, OFJERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented March 26, 1907.

Application filed July 29,1905. Serial No. 271,324.

To aZZ 2072/0112 it may concern.-

Be it known that we, JOHN D. IHLDER and RUMsEY SooTT, citizens of theUnited States, and residing, respectively, in New York city, New Yorkcounty, New York, and in Vashington, District of Columbia, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Safety-Catches for Elevators, ofwhich the following is a specification.

The invention relates to safety devices for elevators.

The object of the invention is to provide a simplified construction andarrangement of parts to constitute an efficient means for arresting,when desired, the movement of the carrier in its downward direction atsome predetermined point in the path of its travel.

Other objects of the invention will appear more fully hereinafter.

The invention consists, substantially, of such a construction andrelative arrangement of parts that normally, by reason of the force ofgravity, said parts shall arrest the movement of the carrier in onedirection, but not in the other.

The invention further consists of electrical means for moving said partsagainst the force of gravity, so that when desired the carrier may movefreely in either direction.

Referring to the accom anying drawings and to the views and re erencecharacters thereon, Figure 1 is a view showing in elevation theapplication of our invention to one type of hoistguideways. Fig. 2 is asectional side View taken on line a a of Fig. 1 and showing the variousparts in detail, as well as the relative location of said parts.

The same part is designated by the same reference character wherever itoccurs in the two views.

The guideways of the hoist are designated by the reference characters 1and 1 and are provided with webs or flanges 2 and 2 to prevent thecross-piece 3 from moving out of its path. This cross-piece 3 is shownin sec- 1 tion in Fig. 2 and may be part of the carrier, as in aplatform-lift, ammunition-hoist, or furnace-hoist, or it may be across-piece attached to the lift, in addition to the other partsthereof, and particularly for the purpose hereinafter set forth.

Suitably secured to the guideways is a base-plate 4, provided at itslower middle portion with a large opening 5. (Shown in Fig. l as acircular opening.) Mounted on the upper portion of the base-plate 4 is asupporting-plate 6, provided at its central portion with bearings 7 and7, in which is pivotally mounted the catch-lever 8, said lever beingsecurely attached to the shaft 9, shown as extending through bearings 77. At a short distance from the opening and to the right thereof asviewed in Fig. 2 is a T- shaped cross-piece 10, the horizontal portion11 of which serves as a limit-stop for certain parts, as hereinafterexplained. Integral with the cross-piece are shown two forwardly andupwardly extending bearings 12 and 12.

The lever 8 at its upper portion is provided with a lug 13, on which arefulcrumed at 14. the lever-plates 15 and 15, one on each side. At thelower end of said lever 8 are shown in Fig. 2 two additional lugs, one(designated by the reference-number 16) extending toward theright inFig. 2 and the other (represented by the reference-number 17) extendingdownwardly. The lugs 13, 16, and 17 must be rigidly attached to thelever 8 and are herein shown integral therewith. The lower end of thelever 8 is provided with a catch 21, whose upper surface issubstantially horizontal and is shown in Fig. 2 as directly supportingthe cross-piece 3, and consequently the carrier, of which 3 constitutesa part or to which it is secured.

Pivoted to the lug 16 at 23 are the linkplates 18 18. The other ends ofsaid plates 18 18 are pivoted to a pair of levers 19 19, which arefulcrumed at their righthand ends, as viewed in Fig. 2, to the aforesaidlugs 12 12. Substantially midway between the pivotal points 23 and 22and between the plates 18 19 and 18 19 is pivoted the intermediatelever-plate 20, which we will call a locking-lever or lockingplate. Thisplate is of such shape as to form a limit-stop for the catch of thelever 8, projecting into the path of the cross-piece 3. This isaccomplished by making the upper portion of said intermediate plate 20of the shape shown by the dotted lines at 26 in Fig. 2, so that when theparts are in the position shown by the full ines said part 26 willaccurately fit the lower end of the link 25, said link being pivoted atits lower end at 27 between the plates 15 and at its upper end at 28 tothe movable core 29 of the electromagnet 30. Be sides being pivotedbetween the plates 18 19 and 18 19 said intermediate plate 20 is pivotedat 31 between the plates 15 15 and is provided at its lower end with atoe 32. To the lug 17 is suitably fulcrumed at 33 the L-shaped lever 34,the leg 36 of which is substantially horizontal and the leg 35 verticalwhen the parts are in their normal position, as shown in full lines. Theleg 35 is provided with a graduated cam-face, so that when thecross-piece 3 moves up from beneath it can easily move the leg 35 to theright, and consequently the catch and lug 17 out from the path of thecross-piece 3, as hereinafter explained.

The link is provided with an adjustable handle 38 for manualoperation-that is, for operation of the catch to move it out of the pathof the cross-piece when the magnet is inoperative or denergized. Themagnet 30 is suitably mounted on the guideways, so as not to interferewith the movement of the cross-piece 3. The magnet is herein shown asmounted on the supports 37 37.

The operation of the device will now be described.

Assuming the parts to be in their full-line positions and thecross-piece 3 below the lever 34 and moving upwardly, it is evident thatwhen said cross-piece 3 strikes the camsurface of the vertical leg ofthe Lshaped lever 34 the horizontal leg 36 thereof will be movedupwardly. In doing so the righthand end of said leg 36 engages with thetoe 32, which is shown adjacent thereto, and moves the plate 20 on thepivot 24, so that its upper portion will move toward the right, carryingwith it the plates 15 15. The lever 8 is also moved a short distancetoward the right by reason of the connection of the plates 15 15therewith at the point 14. This action continues until the upwardmovement of the leg 36 is limited by the lower horizontal portion of thelug 16, as at 39. By this time the cross-piece 3 has reached thevertical face of the lug 17 and the catch 21 of the lever 8, after whichthe main pressure is on the lower end of the lever 8, whosefulcrum-point is then at 9. The parts are then finally forced into theirposition, as shown in Fig. 2 in dotted lines. When the cross-piecereaches the position as shown in Fig. 2, the parts again assume theirfull-line position by reason of the weight of the solenoid 29principally. The upper portion 26 of the plate 20 then contacts with thelower end of the lever 25, so as to prevent the catch 21 from mov ingtoo far into the path of the cross-piece 3. Preferably, however, the toe32 is so constructed that it normally makes contact with the leg 36 andsaid leg with the horizontal portion 11 of the T-shaped support 10, asshown. On the vertical portion of this support rest the links 19, therelation between the parts being such that normally the center of thepivot 24 is held above a line drawn through the centers of the pivots 23and 22. This arrangement is for the purpose of preventing binding whenthe cross-piece 3 first begins to move the lever 34 bodily toward theright. For the same reason the center of the pivot 31 is held by theportion 26, engaging with the lower end of the link 25 to the right of aline drawn through the centers of the pivots 14 and 24.

It will now be seen that there are two togglesa main toggle comprisingthe links 18 and 19 and 18 19, forming a main togglejoint, and anauxiliary toggle comprising the links 15 15 and plate 20, forming anauxiliary toggle-joint. These toggle-joints are so arranged that a smalldownward pressure applied at the pivot 27 will enable the catch 2] tosupport a heavy load without being moved out of operative position.

The normal position of the pivot 24 should be only slightly above thatof a line drawn through points 23 and 22, and the pivot 31 should havethe same relation with the pivots 14 and 24. When the whole weight ofthe lift is supported by the catch 21, the maximum strain is obviouslyon the lever 8 and shaft 9; but there is also a sidewise pressurethrough links 18 18 and 19 19 on the shaft at 22 and an upward pressurefrom point 24. Furthermore, a pressure is exerted from point 14 onlever-plates 15 15 tending to rotate the same about the point 27 andswing the plate 20 about the pivot 24 by reason of the connection ofsaid plates 15 15 with the plate 20 at the point 31. The movement of thelever 20 is limited in its movement toward the left by the stop 26 ofthe plate 20, but principally by the toe 32 engaging with the leg 36,which in turn.

contacts with the horizontal portion 1]. of the rigid and fixedcross-piece 10. The up ward pressure from the point 24 also acts on theplate 20 and tends to move the same a about 31 as a fulcrum and producesthe same action as before, and therefore increases the' effect thereof.It is therefore clear that our arrangement of catch and toggle-jointsforms an effective means for preventing the downward movement of thepart 3.

Now when it is desired to release the hit so that the cross-piece 3 maymove past the catch 21 either the magnet 30 is energized or the lever 38is manually operated to move the link 25 upwardly into the dotted-lineposition. If magnet 30 is energized,. its core will move into thesolenoid. The link 25 being pivoted at 28 will be moved upwardly,swinging the plates 15 about the fulcrum 14 by reason of the connectionof the lever 25 therewith at 27. A pulling force will also be exerted onthe plate 20 at 31. This force is transmitted to the levers 18 18 and 1919, and since the pivot at 22 is fixed the pivot 23 will be drawn towardthe right, and therefore the catch 21 will be moved out of the path ofthe cross-piece 3, so that the parts will assume their dotted-linepositions and the lift can descend. In its upward movement the link 25through plates 15 exerts a pressure on the lever 8 toward the left; butthe leverage at 14 is so small as compared with that at 23 that it haslittle effect.

Although we have shown our invention applied to two guideways, it isobvious that it would be within the province of our invention to use aseparate catch electrically operated, as shown, for more than oneguideway, and although the invention is particularly adapted to be usednear the upward limit of travel of the hoist it may be placed at anypoint between the limits of travel, if desired. Furthermore, variouschanges may be made in the construction and details of our inventionwithout departing from the spirit thereof.

The circuits in connection with which the electromagnet herein disclosedmay be operated are described and claimed in a copending application foran electric-elevatorcontrolling system by John D. Ihlder and Rumsey l V.Scott, Serial No. 271,823, filed July 29, 1905.

l/Vhat we claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a hoist, the combination of means comprising interlocking togglesfor preventing movement of a carrier in one direction, and means foractuating said toggles.

2. In a hoist, the combination of means comprising interlocking togglesfor preventing movement of the carrier in a predetermined direction, andan electroresponsive device for actuating said toggles.

3. In a hoist, the combination of means for preventing movement of thecarrier in one direction only, said means comprising toggles, and anelectroresponsive device for actuating said toggles.

4. In a hoist, the combination of a catch normally projecting into thepath of a part of the hoist-carrier, and a plurality of togglesassociated with said catch, and so constructed and arranged that saidcarrier shall be resisted in its movement in one direction but not inanother.

5. The combination with the guideways of a hoist, of a catch normallyprojecting into the path of a part of the hoist-carrier, a substantiallyL-shaped lever provided with a cam-surface and fulcrumed to said catch,and toggles so constructed and arranged that said part of thehoist-carrier can move in one direction in the guideways but not in theother.

6. In a hoist, the combination with a catch normally projecting into thepath of a 7. In a hoist, the combination with a,

catch normally projecting into the path of a part of the hoist-carrier,of interconnected t toggles connected to said catch to hold the latterin fixed position when the carrier is supported by said catch, andelectromagnetic means for actuating said toggles and releasing the catchto permit the hoist-car rier to move past said catch.

8. In a hoist, a catch, an L-shaped lever provided with a cam-face, saidcam and lever projecting normally into the path of a part of thehoist-carrier, and interconnecting toggles connected to said catch tohold the latter in fixed position to prevent said part from moving inone direction, but permitting the catch to be released when said partengages said cam-surface in moving in the opposite direction.

9. The combination in a hoist, with means for preventing movement of thecarrier in one direction; said means comprising a looking device; of alever, part of which normally projects into the path of part of thecarrier,

and another part of which is constructed and arranged to unlock saidlocking device when the carrier moves in another direction.

10. The combination, in a hoist, with a catch, of an L-shaped lever, oneleg of which has a cam-surface and with said catch projects into thepath of a part of the carrier of the hoist, and interconnecting leversand links connected to said catch, and comprising a locking device tohold the catch in fixed position and prevent movement of said part ofthe carrier in one direction, said lever being arranged to actuate saidlocking device to release said catch and permit free movement of saidpart in the opposite direction.

11. The combination with guideways of a hoist, of a base-plate mountedthereon, levers pivotally connected to said base-plate, intermediatelevers, one of which is a locking-lever pivotally connected to thefirst-named levers, a catch, an additional lever connected to theaforesaid levers and carrying said catch at its outer end in the path ofa part of a carrier of the hoist, and a cam-shaped lever pivoted to saidcatch and having one leg thereof projecting with said catch into thepathway of said part of the carrier, and having the other leg thereofassociated with said locking-lever to actuate the same and effect therelease or lateral movement of the catch when said part of the carrierengages the cam in its upward movement.

12. The combination with guideways of a hoist, of a base-plate mountedthereon, a pivoted lever having a catch at its end projecting normallyinto the path oi a part of the carrier, a double set of togglesconnected between said base-plate and said lever, means for normallyholding the toggles in locking position, and a bell-crank lever pivotedto said catch and having one arm cam-faced and projecting with the catchinto the ath of said part of the carrier, said bell-crank ever havingits other arm associated with said toggles to unlock the same when saidcamfaced arm is engaged by said part of the carrier.

13. In a latch device, the combination with a pivoted lever having acatch at its end, of a fixed support, a double set of toggles connectedbetween said lever and fixed support, means for limiting the downwardmovement of said toggles, and a bell-crank lever associated with saidtoggles to move the same and. release the catch.

14. In a latch device, the combination with a pivoted lever having acatch at its end, of a fixed support, toggle mechanism con necting saidlever to said support, a bellcrank lever adapted to be actuated tounlock the toggle mechanism and. release the catch, means for limitingthe downward movement of the toggle mechanism, and an electroresponsivedevice for actuating said means to move said toggle mechanism upwardlyand said catch laterally.

15. The combination with the guidewavs of a hoist, of a pivoted leverhaving a catch at its lower end normally projecting into the path of apart of a hoist-carrier to prevent downward movement thereof, a doubletoggle, means acting on said toggle to hold said catch in fixedposition, a stop for limiting the downward movement of said toggle, acamlever actuated by said part of the carrier in its upward movement tooperate said toggle and move said catch out of said path of travel.

16. In a hoist, the combination with a pivoted lever having a catchrlgid therewith and projecting normally in the path of a part of saidcarrier to prevent its downward movement, of toggle mechanism forholding said catch in fixed position, means for holding said togglemechanism in looking position, and a manual device for actuating saidtoggle mechanism to release the catch.

I 17. In a hoist, the combination with a pivoted lever having a catchfixed thereto and projecting into the path of a movable body to preventmovement thereoi in a predetermined direction, of toggle mechanism forlocking said catch in fixed position, means for holding said togglemechanism in looking position, and an electroresponsive device foractuating said. toggle mechanism to release the catch.

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specification inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN D. IHLDER. RUMSEY W. SCOTT.

Witnesses for Ihlder:

CHARLES M. NIssEN, O. BLINN.

Witnesses for Scott:

J. C. WILsoN, GEORGE J. JOHNSTON.

